Improvement in wrenches



*.E. S. SGRIIPTURE.

Wrenches. No. 144,036. Paxentedqcnzana.

NTED

rn'rnsf IMPRGVEMENT IN WRENCHES. A

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 144,036, dated October28, `187.3 application filed May 2, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELIPHALET S. SortirA TURE, of Brooklyn, E. D., inthe coun-ty of Kings and State of N ew York, have invented. certainImprovements in Adjustable Wren ches, of which the following is aspeciiication:

Myinvention relates to that class of Wrenches in which the jaw can bereleased and adjusted by hand; and it consists in the combination of ahardened ratchet-nut and a soft-metal bar or body, so that the nut willtake a iirm hold, and in several minor details, as hereinafterdescribed.

Fig. l is a side view of my wrench with portions broken away to show theinterior construction, and Fig. 2 a cross section of the wrench on theline zr zr.

In constructing my wrench I provide a straight bar or body, A, having afixed jaw or head, B, on one end, and on its other end secure a handle,C, as usual. In order to reduce the weight of the bar as much aspossible without reducing its effective strength, I recess its sides, asshown at a, and make its back or rear edge of a rounded or semicircularform, as shown at b. This cutting away of the metal renders the barcomparatively thin at all points, so that when made of malleablecastiron it may be quickly and thoroughly annealed or decarbonized.Another advantage from rounding the back of the bar is that it ai''ordsonly a narrow bearing for the spring in the movable jaw, so thatunnecessary friction is prevented, and the jaw allowed to move Y withease, as hereinafter further explained. In the front edge or face of thebar or body A, I cut screw-threads or teeth d, forming a rack on theface of the bar. 4 On the bar I mount t-he sliding jaw D, having two`arms, c and e, the former extending down on the face of the bar, andprovided with a screw or nut, E which engages in the rack d, and thelatter extending down on the back of the bar, and terminating in athumb-piece, as shown in Fig. l. The jaw is allowed a little lateralplay, so that by pressing on the arm c the jaw may betipped so as tothrow the nut E out of the rack d, and thereby release the jaw, so thatit may be moved up and down on the bar. In order to hold the nut orscrew in the rack, a spring, F,

is secured to the inside of the arm e, in such manner as to bear ou theback of the bar and press the arm e outward, as shown inFig. l. Thethreads or teeth of the screw and rack are inclined or .beveled on oneside, but perpendicular on the other, as shown in Fig. l, so that whilethey permit the jaw to be pushed readily forward without disengagingthenut, they aiford a iirm and solid resistance to any backA ward movementof the jaw.

The wrench, constructediuthe manner above described, may be held in onehand, and the jaw adjusted forward or backward with great quickness byplacing the thumb on the arm c, pressing down to unlock the nut, andthen moving the arm endwise until the jaw reaches the required position.

With my wrench the jaw can be set up in place instantly, and as quicklyreleased and drawn back. While the jaw is capable of the instantaneousratchet adjustment above de scribed, it may also be adjusted intheordinary manner by turning the screw or nut.

The screw is made with a neck, f, which Vextendsup into the arm, and isheld by a pin, g, which bears in a groove made in the neck, as shown inFig. l.

It will be observed that the strain brought on the movable jaw tends topress the screw or nut toward the bar A, and that consequently there isno danger of the jaw nnlock ing when in use.

In order that the rack may always afford a rm clean seat for the screwor nut, I make the nut of hardened steel and the bar of soft metal, sothat the pressure or strain on the nut will cause it to cut into andtake a firm hold on the bar. In the screw I make longii tudinal groovesor notches h, which afford a hold for the thumb and nger when turningthe nut, and also leave edges or lips in the threads or teeth of thescrew to cut into and clean out the rack. Lengthwise in the face of thebar A, I forni a groove, i, which serves to relieve the screw or nut,and permit of its takinga firmer and better hold than it would otherwisedo.

By the above method of construction I pro duce a wrench which isexceedingly strong, cheap, simple in construction, and easy of adniustment. By arranging the jaw so that it can be adjusted by the thumbthe Wrench is adapted for use in many places and for many purposes forwhich the ordinary Wrenches cannotbe used. While the ratchet adjustmentonly admits of the jaw being stopped at certain points, still, byturning the screw or nut, the jaw may be set up to the exact pointrequired, and the Wrench thereby caused to grasp tightly a nut of anysize.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim isy 1. In combinationwith the jaw having the hardened-steel nut or screw E, the soft-metalbar A, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The relief-groove i, formed in the face of the soft bar A, incombination With the screw or hard nut E, as and for the purpose setforth.

3. In combination With the rack-bar A, the nut E, provided with thegrooves or notches h forming the cutting-lips, as shown and described. y

ELIPHALET S. SCRIPTURE. Witnesses:

WM. E. GREEN, THEO. E. GREEN.

